72 Hours at the Congressional Black Caucus Convention in D.C.

The Congressional Black Caucus' annual legislative conference in Washington is a nonstop cavalcade of programs, panel discussions, workshops, job fairs, ultraexclusive receptions and upscale parties.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Washington, DC, United States

The Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference in Washington is a nonstop cavalcade of programs, panel discussions, workshops, job fairs, ultraexclusive receptions and upscale parties.

It takes some endurance and willingness to be sleep-deprived to attend many of the provocative and hot-button programs, stroll through the author’s pavilion, partake in debates and discussions and still have enough in the reserves to roll to the many receptions and parties that punctuate the 40th annual convention — then to get back up early the next morning and repeat the process for 72 hours.

Thursday: We landed at the Washington Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia. You can take a cab or subway for the quick ride over the Potomac River into downtown Washington. We stayed at the four-star Capitol Hilton, a nine-block walk to the Washington Convention Center where the CBC’s conference is held every year.

I attended the National Association of Black-owned Broadcasters, which convened at the upscale Ritz Carlton in the Georgetown section of northwest Washington. Elite black marketing agencies discussed the current plight and future of America’s urban radio stations.

The Congressional Black Caucus conference represents the largest gathering, by far, of black legislators, educators and policy people in the country.

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